Mismatched
by Aleia15
Summary: They were as mismatched a couple as the could be, but somehow it worked. In spite of everything and everyone, it worked. Hitsugaya, Matsumoto


**Mismatched**

He could remember the watermelon.

Everything else about his past life was gone or too hazy to actually be considered a memory, but the watermelon stayed. It was funny; of all the things that should be there it was the crisp and fresh taste of a fruit the only thing he could recall of an entire life.

He had been told it was normal, that memories of the past were not needed where he was now, but it still bothered him.

Or at least it used to until she appeared; Hinamori Momo, with her stories about the shinigami, her tray full of fresh watermelon, and her smile.

He would listen to her tales and drink everything she told him avidly, waiting for her next visit and counting the days, always wondering when he would be strong or old enough to be with her in Seiretei.

"Shiro-chan!"

He would scowl at the nickname, secretly pleased to have a friend close to his age to give him one, and devour the fruit while teasing her, calling her stupid names and acting more like the kid he couldn't remember being than the adult he was slowly becoming.

"We'll go tomorrow on a training exercise to Earth," she was beaming; excited about that part of her life he couldn't share. Not yet. "Kira and Renji said we might even fight real hollows, and maybe we will get one of the Taichous to come along--"

Hitsugaya listened to her, learning and wishing, wondering when would be his turn and if she wouldn't be already too far ahead then.

He needed to work hard and one day they would be on equal grounds.

One day.

…

Hinamori had never mentioned how bloody boring the Academy could be. She had also failed to mention it was full of stupid people and useless lessons.

Hitsugaya glared at one of the instructors and then repeated like a parrot the instructions given. Kidou. It wasn't that he disliked it, or that he was unable to master it. Quite the contrary; it was so easy it was boring. The instructors refused to teach them the high level incantations, and the ones that were adequate for their level were so simple he had been able to perform them for weeks.

The whole thing was a waste of his time.

And that was without mentioning the fact that he hardly got along with the rest of the students. He was the youngest and also the first of his class. There were rumours around he was almost ready for Bankai, and most of the older students were giving him a hard time about it without actually believing it. He didn't want to know what would happen if they found out he was already in the materialization stage.

"Shiro-chan!"

He looked up scowling; Hinamori was approaching him with two other boys by her side. From her usual mentions of them it was easy to see that the melancholic blonde was Kira and the loud redhead was Renji.

"How many times I have to tell you not to call me that, Momo?" he said out of habit, not really annoyed.

"Shiro-chan!" she repeated as if he hadn't spoken; up close he could see she looked radiant, her smile lighting up her entire face. Something good must have happened, "I've been offered a place in the 5th Division! Aizen-taichou has requested me to work on his Division!"

She looked so happy he couldn't bring himself to say anything bad, not with the way her eyes sparkled and her smile threatened to split her face. He tried one of his rare smiles.

"Congratulations, Momo," he said formally.

She was getting further away, but that was ok. It was time for him to catch up.

…

"Out of the way, kiddo!"

Hitsugaya glared at the voice, not knowing who it belonged to and too exhausted to care. It had been a cock up of a mission since the beginning. Sending a bunch of unsupervised trainees to deal with a group of hollows in the 70th district of Rukongai? Who had thought it was a good idea? They had been able to deal with most of them, but they seemed to keep coming.

"Unare, Haineko!" a woman with long blond-reddish hair was standing in front of the biggest of the remaining hollows. It was clear to Hitsugaya that it was no match for her.

The hollow was surrounded by a cloud of ash and disappeared with an angry shriek, only to be replaced by three more, bigger and stronger. Hitsugaya grabbed his zanpakutou, ready to help.

She dispatched them with the same swiftness, almost dancing between her enemies, graceful and confident in her steps. It was over in a flash and she turned to him.

"Are you all right, kiddo?" she asked, her face softening in concern. Hitsugaya scowled. _Kiddo_.

A furious roar made them turn; another pack of hollows was advancing on them. Was there no end to it?

"Run!" she said, giving him a push.

He glared at her, "I can fight," he said, and grabbed the hilt of his zanpakutou, releasing it.

If he had been expecting her to protest, he was sorely disappointed. She smiled. "Good, fight then!"

Hyorinmaru was cold and composed in both his hand and his head, and they attacked. The sheer number of the hollows made up for their lack of strength, and it took some time to get rid of all of them. When the officers came Hitsugaya and the woman were almost done.

"Rangiku, are you all right?" Ichimaru Gin, the 3rd Division Taichou, approached them after disposing of the last of the group. She turned, and beamed.

"Gin, this kid here knows how to fight!" she said, pointing at him and Hitsugaya felt annoyed and pleased at the same time. And then she frowned, "and where were you? You were supposed to be supervising the students."

Hitsugaya disconnected after that; he was tired and wanted to go back. The rest of the team could deal with the clean up; he had done more than enough.

…

The Division was a shambles.

Hitsugaya couldn't believe he had been given an officer position so soon, but seeing the state the 10th Division was in, it was not surprising. The person running it up till that moment had been, to say it kindly, completely useless.

He could see that his decisions were not going to be popular.

"Yamamoto-soutaichou," he bowed politely entering the old man's office. It was only his first week as Taichou and he already needed to request special permission from the Soutaichou.

The old man looked up and smiled, "Ah, Hitsugaya-kun," he said, signalling to a chair in front of his desk, "how are you managing in your new position?"

"Is about that I want to talk you about, soutaichou. I want to request the transfer of Utada-fukutaichou to a different Division."

The old man arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. Hitsugaya sighed; he was going to need to say everything, even if he didn't like the idea of badmouthing anyone behind their back. Not that he had not said the same things to the man's face, but that wasn't the point.

"I'm afraid Utada-san and I won't be able to work together. He was expecting the position to become his, and has been trying to undermine my authority since the announcement was made. The Division has been poorly managed, and there is a lot of work to do if I want it to be functional by the end of the year. I need a second in command I can trust."

There, he had said it.

Yamamoto-soutaichou seemed to consider this for some time, and then he pulled a folder out of a drawer on his desk.

"It took you less time than I gave you credit for to come to see me, Hitsugaya-kun," he said, and Hitsugaya had the nasty suspicion his move had been completely predictable, "this is the list of the available candidates for the position, please select one and then communicate your decision to me. I'll inform Utada-san of his transfer."

Hitsugaya grabbed the folder and stood up, "Thank you, Yamamoto-soutaichou."

He opened the folder on the way out, and the first file on it grabbed his immediate attention. Matsumoto Rangiku. It was going to be an easy decision.

…

"You called me Hit--Kiddo?"

Matsumoto Rangiku was staring at him from the door to his office, an expression of utter disbelief on her pretty face.

"You can come in, Matsumoto-san," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk, "ah, and it's Hitsugaya-taichou." He added, almost like an after thought.

She stared for a few seconds more, and then closed the door and took the sit offered, still gaping.

"You can close your mouth, Matsumoto-san," he said snidely when she kept just staring.

That snapped her out of it and she narrowed her eyes, "You called me, Hitsugaya-taichou?" she asked coldly.

He almost smiled at that, he had been right picking her. "I have a position to fill in my Division, Matsumoto-san," he said, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. "I want you to consider joining the 10th Division as fukutaichou."

"What?" she looked shocked, and he was pleased to see that she didn't try to hide her feelings.

He took her file out of the folder on top of his desk, "This is you application for a promotion, is it not?"

She looked at the file, scanning it quickly and then she pointed at a paragraph, "As you can see, Hitsugaya-taichou," she said, "I applied for a promotion within the 3rd Division. And that was five years ago. It was rejected and Kira got the position."

"I can read."

"So I'm afraid there has been a mistake." She stood up to leave.

"There is no mistake, Matsumoto-san," he said, and she stopped. "Yamamoto-soutaichou gave me the list of candidates, and I haven't even looked at the rest of the files. I am offering _you_ the position. Do you want it?"

She turned and looked at him straight in the eye, "Why, kiddo?"

His eyebrows tried to climb up on his forehead, he had not expected that. "You and I fought together once." Was the only reason he could give.

"I remember it."

"You tried to protect me, but when I told you I could fight you didn't doubt it. We fought well together."

"We did." She smiled and Hitsugaya knew she was going to accept. "But working together in a Division is not the same, kiddo. I'm sure we will drive each other round the bend."

And he didn't doubt that was true. He had asked around before calling her, even though he was sure he wanted Matsumoto as his second, and everyone agreed that she was so different from him it was a miracle they were the same species.

"I think," he began, standing up and walking to her. He came up face to her huge bosom, and had to tilt his head back to look her in the eyes. She smirked, "we can work together, if we try."

"How?"

"We just need to set some ground rules and see how it works." He said, hoping she didn't think about it for too long. It was a very uncomfortable position.

She took a step back, levelling their eyes again, "Like what?"

"You don't call me kiddo, ever again," he said, grabbing the hilt of his zanpakutou, "and I don't freeze your arse. Everything else, we'll see how it goes."

She laughed.

"Well, Taichou," she said moving to the door again, "I think we have a deal. I'll leave all the paperwork to you."

When the door closed, Hitsugaya smiled.

…

Working alongside Matsumoto Rangiku had its advantages, even if she tended to avoid doing any real work.

She was cheerful and loud, and never let Hitsugaya push himself past his limits. She was a bit of a mother hen, and still used to treat him like a kid, but she would balk and show her claws if anyone tried to disrespect him. Hyorinmaru was also quite taken with her.

She also didn't let him get depressed about anything. Not even about Momo. Especially not about Momo.

It had taken him sometime to realize the truth, but in the end it was impossible not to. Hinamori and he would never be in equal grounds as he had hoped, and she would never consider him anything more than her friend, almost her little brother.

He had seen it in the way she looked at Aizen-taichou, the way she talked about him with a faraway look and hope in her voice. She was in love. And it was not with him.

It hurt. It hurt to realize that the girl he had loved for more than a decade was unable to see past his looks, to realize that in spite of his body he was old enough to love her not as a little kid, but as a man.

Well, no one in Seiretei considered him a man, and somehow he couldn't blame them.

"Taichou," Matsumoto called him, and he realized he had been staring out of the window for some time, ignoring his work. "We just received a request from the 5th Division for joint training. They have some new recruits that need a bit of experience and the next Division to go to Earth is ours," she said bringing a big folder to his desk.

The 5th Division, just the last one he wanted to work with at the moment. It wasn't that he disliked Aizen-taichou, quite the contrary, he could see the reason Momo had fallen for him. Had he not been a man, he would have as well. Aizen was everything Hitsugaya hoped to be with time: strong, smart, and gentle; well respected by his subordinates as well as the other officers of the Gotei 13. It was just that at that moment he would rather not be around them. Not if that meant staring at Momo's love struck face for the entire day.

But there was no way he could avoid it either.

"I want to ask for something, Taichou," Matsumoto said, and he turned to look at her finally. She looked strangely serious, her expression concerned.

"Yes, Matsumoto?"

"I want to lead that expedition, Taichou," she said, and he couldn't help but to feel relieved at that, "you have lots of work here, and I need the experience. I've never commanded an expedition like that, and it would show our officers they can trust me in battle."

And that was another reason he liked her very much; Matsumoto would do whatever was needed to spare his pride. A real mother hen.

"Granted," he said, and she nodded taking the folder again and smiling before leaving the office.

It would take some time, he knew it, but he was sure he would forget Hinamori. And in the meantime he had Matsumoto to look after him.

…

Hitsugaya had though he knew what it meant to be angry, furious even, but as it turned out he had no idea. Not before this.

He was livid now, and the roaring inside his mind was only making him feel angrier by the minute. Hyorinmaru was usually calm and composed, but his cold fury was startling for its intensity.

He really had a soft spot for Matsumoto.

He had known for some time there was something wrong with her, and he had the nasty suspicion he knew what it was. Ichimaru Gin. It was no secret they were together, they had been together for decades and even if no one understood the reason, everyone could tell Matsumoto had eyes for no one else. But she never said anything, never complained about her personal life choosing not to burden him with her problems when she knew he was still dealing with Hinamori's rejection.

That was the reason finding her in such a state angered Hitsugaya so much.

"Taichou?" she said when he entered the office, her voice trembling while she wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to disguise the damage caused by countless tears on her pale face.

He wasn't even supposed to be there, but the meeting had been cancelled by an emergency and he had some paperwork to finish. The sight of his second in command curled up on the couch, her entire frame wracked by sobs, was enough to make the temperature drop in the whole Taisha.

"What's wrong, Matsumoto?" he asked approaching her slowly, as if she was a frightened animal.

"Nothing's wrong, Taichou," she lied, and then she tried to smile. In his mind, Hyorinmaru howled.

Hitsugaya clenched his fists, "Don't lie to me, Matsumoto. What has he done?"

She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time and he could see her seeing. "When did you grow up so much, kiddo?" she asked, breaking their only rule for the first time in the years they had been working together. Hitsugaya didn't care. "He hasn't done anything, and that is the truth," she said, the sorrow in her voice telling him it was no lie this time, "and that is sort of the problem. He never does anything. It feels as if he is not even there most of the time, his body is but his soul is somewhere else."

She sighed, her eyes filling again with tears. Wiping at them angrily Matsumoto shook her head.

"I feel as if I've been in a relationship with a ghost all this time."

Hitsugaya grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly, and she tried a tentative smile.

"We are both pretty fucked up, don't you think kiddo? You love your childhood friend who only has eyes for her Taichou, and I'm in a one-sided relationship with the creepiest and most egoistical bastard in Seiretei."

She suddenly stood up and tugged at his hand until he stood as well.

"You know what we should do, kiddo? We need to get drunk!"

He glared at her, "It's Hitsugaya-taichou."

And then he smiled.

…

"Taichou!"

Hitsugaya lifted his head from the file he was currently studying, the scowl on his face melting into mere annoyance at the sight of his fukutaichou entering the office.

Some things never changed, it didn't matter how many years passed. Matsumoto would always be loud and cheerful, and her mere presence would always be enough to improve Hitsugaya's mood.

"Matsumoto?" he said, wondering what had caused the beaming smile on her face and what did he need to do to make it stay. Forever if possible.

"Taichou, we have to go drinking! We have to celebrate!"

"Celebrate?" he asked looking at her innocently, though he was sure he knew what she wanted to celebrate. "You know I don't drink, Matsumoto."

She grabbed his hand and tugged, dragging him away from his desk. Hitsugaya felt like he should protest, even if just a bit, and then he let himself be taken away from his work.

"It's my birthday, Taichou! You have to celebrate it with me!"

He heard clearly what she didn't say. We have to celebrate it together to show _him_, to show _them_ that we don't need them, that we don't want them.

We have each other.

And celebrate it they did, even though he knew it was a bad idea to drink. It was the same every single year and it would be the same for as long as _they_ held a place in their hearts.

"Why is it still painful, kiddo?" Hitsugaya sighed, too drunk and tired to scold her for calling him that again. She always did that when she was drunk, and then she always apologized the next morning.

"You need more time, we need more time," he slurred, his head dropping on her shoulder. She rested her own head on top of his.

"Time," she chuckled humourlessly, "that is the one thing we have to spare."

She sighed, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers. Her hand felt huge enveloping his and he realized again how very mismatched they were.

"Yeah time," she sighed dreamily; and then she whispered, so low Hitsugaya was sure it was not meant to be heard, "will you take his place when the time is right, Taichou?"

He squeezed his eyes close, his head reeling, his breath stuck on his throat.

"Will you wait for me, Matsumoto?" he said in the same tone, almost afraid of the answer.

In the silence that followed she gripped his hand tighter and he didn't let go.

…

Fin


End file.
